Wolds Tough 10

Its in the Lincolnshire Wolds, It's a 10 mile race and its tough - it really does exactly what it says on the tin !

The HQ was at the Swallow Inn at Swallow which is in the Wolds not far north of Caistor. This was going to be Tenby Marathon prep as the run course there is lumpy and as you can see, the tough in this race is the haywire run profile !

I lined up dead last as I was going to take this one steady and soon found out that even the first 100 metres were on an incline. I kept my breathing under control and settled into a decent cadence for the first mile which passed in an uneventful 8.04. I was passing people, and during the second mile the longest of the climbs came and went - again. a nice steady climb not going too mad and thinking that wasn't that bad at all ! 8.47 for the 2nd mile and that was nearly the last run split that I remember ! There was a sharp bugger of an effort at mile three and then a water station to cool down from. At this point I was set for the day, felt OK, and had found my level !

What goes up must come down, and the middle miles saw some nice downhills which I tried not to take too much advantage of for fear of injury and then stuck with it for a tough mile 7 & 8 which seemed to be never ending climbing.

At 8.5 miles it was all but done and I enjoyes the final downhill heading for the finish. 1.21.27 and a good few minutes ahead of where I thought I would be - a good days racing !

National Club Relays 2014

Saturday morning and a return to the National Club relays that took place at Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre in Nottingham. Just 2 years ago, I suffered a calf injury running into the water in 2012 and din't fancy a repeat last year so stayed away. This would also be my first team appearance for my new Tri Club : Tri3 Sleaford Triathlon Club . This how I got on :

Swim 9.53

First off, the water was so bloody cold ! Its the middle of August FFS ! It was that cold I had face freeze, and also struggled to breathe on my chest - albeit that could have been because I didn't pull my wetsuit up enough at the front. There were 185 of us in the water when we were set off and immediately it was busy everywhere. I took an inside line to the first buoy and started to get out of the way of the traffic. I did not settle the whole way round and was just relieved to get out of the water !  85th position when I handed over the 'baton'. Best swim at the relays by a country mile :-)

Bike 23.02

The best part of any Triathlon ! Going first meant going a little longer but I didn't mind that ! The T1 tag was also long as it was a longer trot out of T1, but once I was on the tarmac of the perimeter road - whoosh ! I was off, full on time trialling mode, keeping an eye on some dubious bike handling, but enjoying the thrill of fast bike riding. We only got to do three laps which was a shame and it was all over too quickly for my liking. 23.02 overall, and I had a long 21/ short 22 on my garmin. At this pointy the team was up to a giddy 36th place ! 

Run 1 20.37

Oh, how I love to run around the lake at HPP, OK, it isn't that bad - its just a long straight run with no end in sight ! I set off on the shorter first run of 2.92km and settled into my usual fast parkrun stride. Considering I've been doing longer stuff in preparation for Wales recently, the run went really well with a 6.55 first mile split seen. 7.05 for the second mile, and then headwind coming back up the lake to average 7.05m/m for the first effort. Hand over the wristband, and then wait 25 mins or so for a second go ! 

Run 2 22.53

A tried to keep warm and stretch in between the runs - in a half hearted, don't know what I'm doing kind of way and then headed back to the tag zone. I gotta say, that second run was much harder than the first ! The lungs didn't mind one bit, but the legs were tired from the first run and didn't want to turn over as quickly as first time around ! First mile 7.07 though which was only 12 secs down on the previous first mile, so not a bad start. From here on in it was a battle to keep pace as there were faster runners coming past me and a real lack of carrots to chase. Sub 23 for the second run, and my contribution done for the day. The team ended up 102nd and the Club had a fabulous first year at the Team Relays and continues to go from strength to strength !

LRRA 25 Champs

I have had a good couple of months or so on the bike and a really good ride last Tuesday, so knew that I could go well at the LRRA 25 mile TT Champs arranged by Alford Wheelers and located at Frithville. The only worry was that I had caned it over the past couple of days, with the 10k on Friday evening, followed by a 2.4km lake swim, 25 mile bike ride with LDR (including 2.5 pints of lovely beer). I didn't know if my legs would be able to take a hammering like that and I had been eating chips all weekend too so didn't feel in the best shape.

The course is a single lap effort with extension to finish and takes place in the fens on an exposed open course. This wouldn't have made much of a difference usually but today was blowing a howler and there was wind galore ! After a cross wind warm up which frankly scared me as the bike was wobbling around in the wind, I was ready to hold on for grim death and start my race at 9.52. The course had a bid of cross backwind for the first miles which meant that although not super fast, I was able to keep up a good effort. Indeed I held an average of 25mph practically until I turned left into a headwind for the middle section of the course - this is where the day became grim to say the least. This was not fun at all, a joyless affair, and disheartening as the average speed dropped from 25mph down to a lowly 23.7mph.

I turned onto the longest straight in the country (or felt like it) and was happy just to have that horrible crosswind which made a change. Although I was going faster, I couldn't really improve things and I was getting tired. I grimaced my way through those final 9 miles or so and ended up with a 1.02.52 for the day - a PB - and trousered the Handicap so can't be too disappointed !          

Sleaford Striders Summer 10k

Friday evening on a breezy summer evening with a chance of rain - the start of a big weekend of racing and training, and no etter way to start it off then with a 10k run preceded by a two mile warm up to log another 8 miles in the bag !

 

The event was hosted by the Sleaford Striders club and is a small affair with c.160 local club athletes taking place. I met up with a few clubbies before heading out of the HQ at Screddington in what was light drizzle to complete an out and back two mile warm up. This was a godsend as I had stitch and these couple of miles helped get rid of it before the race started.

 

I managed to get back into the village all warmed up like, just about ready for the start, but found myself at the back of the field. Not that I wanted a particularly fast night in any case ! The plan for the night, was to bag the 8 miles in total and get a medal, I didn't want to go too giddy and with 4 weeks left until Tenby I couldn't risk injury.

 

At 7, something went off and we were under way. Snaking around narrow country lanes and held up in the inevitable traffic. Some running on grass later and a conservative 7.33 first mile seen. Then I started chasing down club mates, albeit at my 'team sky' reel em in pace rather than all out racing. 7.14 for the second mile and things going nicely. Tougher third and fourth miles where I held a 7.20 something pace and then it got tough. I was already at 6 miles for the evening and the last two miles were reasonably painful as I started to tense and tighten up and battled to maintain the earlier pace.

 

Crossing the finish kerb thing back into the HQ at 46.31 was a pleasing effort and I think I deserved the chips that I scoffed on the way back :-)

Ingham 10's Round Up

26.08.14  24.04
One of those rides where I thought I had gone well only to find that I was a good 20 seconds off the pace !  Mind you, I am in peak training for Ironman Wales so probably not a surprise. The season seems overloaded right now and a 'fixture' congestion is apparent as I'm chasing various leagues and trophies. I might need to pick and choose what I do going forward !

19.08.14 23.54

Pleasing to be under the 24 again, however, just two days after my efforts at the County 25's, and on what I thought would be the fastest night of the series - I was slightly disappointed with this result !

The wind was a NW, at about 7-8mph so should have been ideal, but there just wasn't either the cadence or the power and as a result a struggled my way through the whole ten miles. This time next week sees a final effort on this course for the year and I am hoping for a better return. In hindsight though, this time last year I would have been giddy with this result !)

12.08.14  24.40

My slowest time on Ingham but also a better ride if that makes any sense. It was going to be a slower night all told in any case because there was a strong 14mph semi head wind on the way back which was more head than semi !!

Coupled with this, I had a moment within 100 metres of starting where I shifted from the bottom ring and the chain jumped ver the top ring - at this moment I gave up and coasted waiting for traffice to pass to turn around. Somehow, the chain caught again and I had a really good ride from thereonin ! By not bothering with what the Garmin said and just pedalling as hard as I could, I actually gained time back and my 6th place on the night was not a disaster !

05.08.14  23.46

This was the first proper night back on the Ingham course and despite the previous nights Aquathon exploits was looking for a reasonable performance. My PB for the course was 24.00 set last year, in fact my slowest ride has been 24.14, so over 4 previous rides I have managed to be pretty consistent.

This was an inter club event with our friends at Trent Valley where the fastest 3 riders on the night from each team would be joined by the best 3 on handicap for a combined total. My brother Dave was riding his first night on his new TT bike and would be aiming for a good handicap score.

The course is a straight out and back - 4.8 miles to a roundabout, and then 5.2 miles back including a nice little downhill finish which makes up for the undulating nature of the course.  From the off, I attacked the first stretch and found that I was holding a steady 25 mph at the roundabout turn. There was an initial headwind on the return leg as the wind came over the exposed part of the ridge but other than that it was just the usual undulations which have more of an upward profile on the return .

I managed to get calf cramp on the smash down the hill, but that didn't matter cos I passed the finish at Cammeringham in just 23.46 - a 14 second PB for the course. Dave rode an excellent 30.06 in his first effort on his TT bike and together both Newhams helped the Wheelers to the overall win on the night in a hotly contested erm…contest !

Bassingham Bash 2014

The Bassingham Bash is a 5 mile road race that takes place every August during the Village's annual gala. Theres stalls, vintage cars and a brass band - and in between this the road race which is popular with local clubs and sees a good turnout on good days as there is always signing on on the day !

 

This year I am running for Lincoln & District Runners which have been my first claim club since the turn of the year and I was proud to line up in the green club vest at the start. My target was to beat last years time of 38 minutes… this is how the miles ticked by….

 

Mile One 6.58 - A lap around the village and paced sensibly. I had a target man for the day and took him in the first mile , only for him to take the place back and start to disappear up the road ! Still, at 6.58, a good first mile in the bag.

 

Mile Two 6.58 - Nothing like consistency is there ! Comfortable second mile, the gap to my target man didn't increase, and I still had a backwind to push me down the lane. Felt OK, and was surprised to hold the first mile pace !   

 

Mile Three 6.59 - Come on now, is the Garmin broken ! 6.59 and all three miles run within a second of each other. I caught my target man too and opened up a gap myself so a success first half of the race. Turned into a headwind toward the end of the third mile and then the slog began !

 

Mile Four 7.25 - That headwind was cooling, ut did nothing for the pace which began to slip. The course also had an upward profile too which didn't help matters. Not being fully 10k match fit, I tired slightly and it was no big news to see a 7.25 mile pop up on the old watch !

 

Mile Five 7.16 - The big mile ! A final attempt at an injection of pace as we headed back into Bassingham. I had another clubmate to pick off but also after a glance behind, had to be wary of target man as he wasn't that far behind and would be pushing hard. I caught the clubmate at 4.8 miles, and managed to finish strongly in 35.36- which was a good three minute improvement on last years effort.

 

An enjoyable event, and a mainstay on my race calendar ;-)

Tri3 Aquathon

    On Tuesday I got myself over to Sleaford Leisue centre to take part in Tri3’s GoTri Aquathon event on what was a warm and humid evening. The event was a simple 400 metre swim in the now refurbished Sleaford pool, followed by a walk along poolside to transition and then a 5km out and back run along a riverbank.

 

My wave was no 2 which started at 7.05 and I was allowed to swim in my calf guards ! I didn’t think that I’d gone well but exited the pool in 7 mins 30 seconds, so could have miscounted!  A nice brisk walk along transition to meet with Bob who was marshalling T1, a quick change and I was off down the well supported riverbank !

 

I ran the first kilometre at a ridiculously giddy pace and was paying for it by the time I reached the turnaround point. It was a real grimace back to the line to finish in 29min 45 secs and third place on the night.

 

The whole event was fantastic and the marshalls and volunteers from Tri3 made it a great night.

National 12 hour Champs

Here it is, the nice big monkey that had been sitting comfortably on my back for the past 12 months. Last year I attampted my first 12 hour time trial which ended with a DNF when wet and tired, I decided to quit and make my way back to Lincoln !

Wind on the clock one year, and I'm back on the start line on the same course and on the same weekend. This year is different, I have support in the shape of my wife Heidi, and I've done some longer rides over the past six weeks in preparation. So I'm hoping for a finish !

I'm away at 6.44
am and the forecast for the day is a strong SSW wind starting at 12mph and peaking at 15mph. It is dry though which means I've dodged one as the BBC had been saying all week that there would be rain on the day. My LRRA competition comes in the shape of a Sleaford Wheeler who is starting 5 minutes behind me. If I was him I tell Heidi, I'd want to catch me as soon as possible !

Pretty quickly the clock reaches 6.44am and I am sent on my way. The course is a single carriageway affair on a weird double loop initially of 40 miles. There's not much in the way of climb with only an undulating upward ripple of note at the rear end of the course. I decide to ride the first loop at about 70% of perceived maximum effort and hold an average of 20.5mph. At the end of each lap there is an out and back around a roundabout and it is only at this point that I was able to see how much progress the guy from Sleaford was making........and its not great news... he's within 2 minutes !!

Response ? Head down, don't panic but increase the effort slightly for the next 40 miles. I knew I'd already stopped ahead of that two minute gap and that he would be stopping after, I also figured that he would have started too quickly in an attempt to catch up with me. That second loop felt really good, I was past last years quitting point and I'd had a pork pie as a little treat ! My rolling average popped above 21mph too as I tried to distance myself from my persuer for the day ! I did a F1 style pit stop at the car and got on my way very quickly trying not to lose too much time. Great husband me ! Heidi sits in the car for two hours and then I spend less than 20 seconds with her before disappearing again !

This time the two minutes pass on the out and back and I don't see him. It is 15 minutes later when I pass by HQ and he looks to be handing his number in - it transpires later that he was pushed off by some random brain donor in a 4x4 and whilst luckily not hurt, it has messed him up. 80 miles in and a major motivating factor has gone.

The third lap was all about getting the hundred in which popped up at 4hrs & 50mins and then the Iron Distance 112 miles – completed in approx 5hrs & 27 mins – a personal best for that distance.

No rough patches so far……. So guess what ? Lap four threw up the toughest lap of the day ! Miles 120-160 proved to be the hardest of the whole ride – the sun was out and it was really hot, on the backside of the course the wind was up to its strongest, and within half a lap I had used most of my water and there was a real Jelly Belly shortage ! I kept telling myself that it would pass and had to grimace my way up the mild undulations that I talked about earlier – I now jokingly referred to these as the ‘devils staircase’! I was so pleased to see Heidi at 160 miles and took two water bottles this time and a shed load of Jellies – I wasn’t about to be caught out again !

At this point we were directed onto the finishing circuit, which was in reality was the top half of the course and measured just over fourteen miles. It would include the ‘devils staircase’, all of the headwind, but also a really fast four mile stretch down past the finish which was at least something to look forward to.

My average speed was dropping slightly with each lap and each Heidi stop, and whilst never plummeting, I was disappointed to see the average speed drop below 20mph at the 185 mile point. I found myself clock watching as I waited for the 200 miles to pass, and then the next target became the 224 mile target which was double Iron distance.

On to the last lap and it was a case of getting past each of the finishing timekeepers and making sure they had my number. I passed HQ to complete my 5^thfinishing lap with 8 minutes to go and had the next two timekeepers to aim for – I pushed as hard as I could and passed the first with 6 minutes to spare, but just failed to get to the second in time. Total mileage 235.97 and 24^th in the National Championships !

Things I learnt….

• The 12hr distance needs to be respected especially in the first couple of hours which should be ridden at 60-70% of effort
• Anyone can do this, I managed to complete on a handful of long rides ridden at a dawdle – its time in the saddle that counts
• Go supported – it will save you time and you will have a friendly face to look forward too
• Jelly Babies are the acceptable middle ground between solid food and gels !

TLI Road Race - Ashby

One year on and I was back at Ashby for my 3rd TLI road race, having finished last in both of my previous efforts I was set on making amends by................... not finishing last !

It was a nice sunny evening, very warm, and a perfect night for some bike race action. The HQ was at the Memorial Hall at Digby and signing on was a quick affair. I seeded myself again in Group 2 and once I had paid my £6 entry fee, headed down to the start which took place at the entrance to the village of Ashby.

The race would be a five lap job, each of approx 6.5 miles each, and we were set away in four groups , four minutes apart, so by 7.04pm my group was off. From the start, it was effort, effort and more effort as we worked together to try and catch group one, but also attempt to stay away from group 3 !  Last year, there was only a few workers, however, this year there seemed to be one or two more that were prepared to put in a stint at the front of the group. I was with two other Wheelers, Adam & Dave, and although we lost Dave early on in his first road race, me and Adam managed to stay put and did the lions share of the work between us.

By lap 3 we had caught group one and some of the better riders held on and joined our group. The wheeler contingent was still working strongly, maybe too strong for some, as the group began to temporarily splinter and turns got missed. We got onto the last lap without being caught and harboured hopes of staying away - false hope though as by the last two miles we had been swallowed up by what was now the peleton, and I managed to stay on to cross the finish line with them.

So, a success finally and yep - no last place !!